SeventyNine Mondays
by Ame Kuroi
Summary: Four Years has passed. The aurguments in the Tendo house have escalated to dangerous levels. What happens when one girl is thrown into the mix of this house she now calls home. Caught between the the people she has come to love as her family. plz RR
1. Chapter 1: Long Nights

Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except Tomoko) it all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Ranma ½  
  
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Seventy-Nine Mondays  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Long Nights  
  
By Ame  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
It had been a long night. A LONG night.  
  
Everything started with Shampoo, of coarse, almost everything always does. Ever since Ranma had graduated high school, Shampoo seems more and more desperate to marry him and get Akane out of the way.  
  
I had been up late working on a History project when I saw him walking outside my window. It was foggy, as it usually is in October, and the clock told me it was just past twelve. But Ranma continued on constantly hardly taking notice.  
  
He nearly fell, when he tripped over a small rock, and dropped a bottle, which shattered into a thousand pieces over the dirt. He was drunk, or had been drinking. Either way I wouldn't have blamed him. Nowadays, he never came home sober. Besides, he and Akane had fought again that day, just like everyday. It started out about Akane making dinner, since Kasumi was busy, and ended, as always, with the discussed of being forced to marry each other, which I might add hasn't taken place yet. Ranma left in a storm of furry and Akane stalked upstairs and slammed the door.  
  
Now Ranma leaned up against a wall underneath the eaves, his head hung in anguish and drunkenness. I watched as another figure came out from the shadows to share the night.  
  
Today, looking back, all I can think is 'if only'. If only Ranma had had one less drink, he would have noticed the difference in the lips that he kissed. If only the lamp had not flickered and died, he would have seen the differences between the deep purple hair and the midnight blue. If only the night had not been so cold, his fingertips would have sensed the distinction between the small body that he held and the one that he loved. If only I had run out to stop him, none of this would have happened.  
  
But I didn't, he didn't, and Shampoo pulled Ranma off into the night, touching and cooing and swaying seductively all the way.  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma hadn't come back until late the next day. I would have taken that long too if I had to think of an excuse for not being home last night. Well Akane threw a hissy fit, as expected, and Ranma did his best to fend off her verbal assault, but it was obvious his heart wasn't in it. It was clear that something was wrong. I watched them from the kitchen as I fixed a snack for myself, casually glancing over my shoulder now and then. Nabiki, on the other hand, just sat there on the counter tape recording the whole thing.  
  
"Tomoko?" Nabiki said not taking her eyes from the camera.  
  
"Hai?" I looked up at her.  
  
" What's with Ranma?"  
  
" I d-don't know." I stumbled over my words, cursing myself for stuttering. I never had been really good at lying. Bending my head back down over my snack, I hoped Nabiki would let it drop.  
  
"Tomoko." Nabiki said my name nice and long as she always did when she wanted something. I knew she never let a subject just drop.  
  
"H-Hai?"  
  
"Tell Nabiki onii-chan what you know." She could always tell when I was lying.  
  
"I-I told you already, I d-don't know."  
  
"Com'on, you know you want to tell me."  
  
"Not really." I mumbled stubbornly.  
  
"Fine." Nabiki started out of the room. "I didn't want to, but."  
  
"All I know is Ranma was drunk last night and went off with Shampoo." I blurted out.  
  
"Thank you." Nabiki smiled and left the kitchen.  
  
I'd only been there four years and she already had three or four files of blackmail on me. If you've ever been into her room lately you would know what I mean. The walls are lined with file cabinets full of snapshots and note cards describing some of our most embarrassing incidents to the finest detail. Racks filled with tapes, each dated and summarized. Although, I did find it entertaining to watch the cassettes titled "Ranma's Love Life" on hot summer days when there was nothing to do.  
  
The fighting eventually subsided with Akane screaming at Ranma that she never cared where he was in the first place. Lately, Their arguments had gotten increasingly more dramatic and violent. All too often Ranma walked away with a red cheek. Nabiki, of course, had been following all of this. She had shown me the graphs she had made. One of the intensity and frequency of their fighting, the other of how kind they were to each other, how often they accidentally brushed hands and blushed or smiled. When the two charts were overlapped there was a simple pattern of peaks and falls. According to Nabiki:  
  
"These fights have gotten increasingly worse, worse than I've ever seen. If my theory is correct, and I'm never wrong, something big is about to happen. it could be good or bad."  
  
That really scared me. Thoughts rolled over and over in my mind of all the changes that could come to the place I now called home. Not just that, but the fact that Nabiki was serious. Dead serious. Ranma and Akane might finally quit on each other. Everybody with some sense in their head, this doesn't apply to Kodachi, knew they loved each other underneath all the harsh words and taunts. somewhere.  
  
I went back to my room hoping this would all turn out fine. Trying to finish that History project was getting harder and harder as the seconds slipped by. I had shared a room with Kasumi, but she was out at the market. I heard distant crashing noises form the dojo as Akane took her anger out on all inanimate objects she could lay her eyes on, coming from one wall, and the thickening silence of Ranma's thinking from the other. All in all, I couldn't have gotten a scrap of work done with all this going on. I got up and walked out of the room thinking I'd talk to Ranma and leave Akane to Nabiki. Only Nabiki knew how to handle Akane when she was having one of those 'I hate the world, so I'm gonna destroy it' temper tantrums. Kasumi would only aggravate Akane even more with her wholesome goodness; Akane usually ignores me, Soun and Genma; Ranma just gets a beating.  
  
I knocked.  
  
"Hai." Came a voice from within. Slowly, I opened the door.  
  
"Ranma?"  
  
"Tomoko!" He had looked surprised to see me. "Did you need something?"  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"Well, I'm not exactly in the mood to chat."  
  
"I saw you," I broke in. "last night." He froze.  
  
"You were standing under my window when Shampoo came."  
  
He didn't say anything, just sat there staring guiltily at the rug.  
  
"Ranma. Where did you go? You and Shampoo?" I was hoping against hope that what I was thinking wasn't true. Ranma looked up at me. "Did you two." I bit my lip as Ranma bowed his head, his cheeks flushing slightly. Suddenly I was angry. Angry at him for making the people I loved suffer like this.  
  
"Ranma! How could you?!!" I nearly screamed.  
  
Shacked he stood up to defend himself. "I swear I didn't know it was her! I thought it was Akane!" His face turned scarlet and I smiled, 'cause I had known it all along.  
  
"You should tell her."  
  
"Tell who?"  
  
"Akane, of course. And apologize."  
  
"Tell Akane?!!" Are you out of your mind? Do you know what she'll do to me?!!"  
  
"Well. she'll tear your head off. but that's beside the point."  
  
"You're insane." He had said turning away from me.  
  
"No more than you."  
  
"Look, I'm not the one sending friends into death traps."  
  
"Yeah, you're right, I'm the one who gets drunk and."  
  
"You think you've got us all figured out." He yelled, temper flaring, as always.  
  
"Damn right, I do!"  
  
'You don't! How could you?!!"  
  
"I've been living with you guys for four years now. You'd think.  
  
"The only reason you here is because on one of his 'training trips', The Freak stumbled across you and decided to bring you back as his personal Lingerie Model!"  
  
I stopped. His words were true. I knew he didn't mean them. I knew they were just said out of anger and desperation. but they still hurt.  
  
My eyes had quickly filled with tears and over flowed down onto my face.  
  
"Hm." Ranma crossed his arms and faced the wall.  
  
In years past, Ranma would have apologized frantically after seeing me start to cry. He would have taken it all back and made everything okay again. That Ranma and I could have "studied" math for hours and finish less than four problems. That Ranma, I could have laughed with for days on end. That Ranma, I could have loved as the older brother I never had, forever. But that Ranma had been gone long since the days of fighting nonstop and those of the hard drinking began. I wondered whether I would ever see that Ranma again.  
  
.probably not.  
  
* * *  
  
If you don't understand it all yet, that's a good thing, really. The answers are coming. in the next chapter. This is my first fanfic so tell me what do you think? R/R  
  
~Ame 


	2. Chapter 2: Pieces of the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½. I DO own Tomoko.  
  
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Seventy-Nine Mondays  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Pieces of the Past  
  
By Ame  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
I had let myself out of the room not waiting for my tears to dry and walked down the hall, passing the rooms of my family sleeping, and outside. I sat myself down on the cold stones that surrounded the small pool. I had often come here just to think. Listening to the wind rustle the tree leaves, watching the tiny ripples of the pool splash up against the rocks, it was all so serene. Quite a difference from the home right behind me.  
  
The night was warm and clear. Silvery blue moonlight had shone across the yard reflecting off the water and shining up into my face. Of all this I paid little heed. I had been lost in my mind, drifting through my own thoughts. I had wished we were all back in high school, where the greatest of our troubles were finals at the end of the year. I had wished Ranma and Akane would get over their pettiness and just accept each other. I had wished everything had stayed the way it was so many years ago. But it didn't, it can't, it never does. Times have to change as surely as night moves to day. People have to change. I've changed.  
  
* * *  
  
The realities of life have been smacking me in the face since I came here four years ago. Now it all seems so long ago. Well, I fist arrived here from Kyoto. Like Ranma said, Happosai found me. or stole me, either way. The thing is I had been kidnapped and my mother and father, being the loving parents that they are, never paid the ransom; I never found out the reason, but I abandoned them as they had abandoned me and looked for my own ways of freedom.  
  
At the time, I was thirteen, headstrong, and all around stupid. I had it in my mind that no one had the right or power to hold me like this, so I planned my escape over the long, tedious, and brain racking time of twenty minutes. Yeah, twenty minutes was all it took to plan my "flawless" escape. As expected, I was caught, and not surprisingly my captors weren't too happy with the fact I wasn't being a cooperative hostage. They dragged me back to the small shack on a hill behind the city and beat me. I had never known so much pain in all of my life combined. Blow after blow I stood silently sobbing, refusing to give in and cry out, and I fell unconscious.  
  
When I awoke I could hardly open my eyes, one had been swollen completely shut. Pain throbbed all over my body, shooting up and down my spine every time I took in a breath. I wanted to die, right there, just die on the floor. It took me a while to realize I was far from death, so I'd settle for the next best thing. passing out again. I moved my hand, gingerly at first, forgetting my purpose as new stings reeled up my arm, but I soon remembered and touched my cheek. My fingers felt the warm, sticky mess of puss and blood as they moved up my face. I found a particularly deep cut just above my left eye and pressed. The pain returned, washing over me, never stopping, unbearable, but I pushed all the harder. I had clenched my teeth but a groan escaped my split lips all the same. One of the men turned around mumbling something unintelligible even to ears not caked full of blood. My hand dropped, unable to stand it anymore, but I was still conscious and could still feel the pulsing all over my body.  
  
My captor was walking closer, or rather stumbling over to the corner where I lay. It was only then I realized the foul stench of alcohol settling thickly in the cabin air. The man was drunk and dangerous and I was hurt and helpless. Fear crept into my mind, crowding out everything, even the pain. All I wanted was to get away from him, NOW!!! I tried to raise myself to my feet, but barely got to me knees. My struggle must have amused the man because he had been laughing in between drinks from the bottle in his hand. I don't know how long he talked to me, laughed at me, while I kneeled hopelessly on the ground, but it wasn't long enough. I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder and I recoiled falling over against the wall. He laughed and then was silent. Suddenly white pain blinded the world I saw behind my closed eyelids as the man poured his alcohol over my body. It seeped into every cut and burned. I could hear his sadistic laughter as I screamed and curled myself into a ball as though it could help. My screams of utter pain pierced the night and reached the ears of one. Even after his bottle was empty I shook until I was exhausted and I finally lost consciousness once again.  
  
I woke to the gnawing of my injuries and the sounds of crashing. My one good eye opened only a sliver, enough to see what was going on. The drunken man staggered around the room as a small, old man hit him from all sides. Under any other circumstances I would have laughed to see the tiny man beating up the big-bad kidnapper. Well, the little, old man won and the drunken bastard collapsed to the floor. Little, old man walked up to me and examined me with his big beady eyes. I don't know how he managed to pick me up but he did it so gently I was surprised to feel the cold of the wood gone from me body.  
  
We darted through the treetops, the soft wind cooling the heat and pain from my wounds. Soon he laid me down gently on grass and I lay there with one eye half open watching him. I didn't know who he was, but he had taken me from that place of terror. His eyes move over my body once again, resting only a moment longer on my breasts, bruised and cut. At the time I couldn't have cared less, as long as he didn't cause me anymore pain. Then he spoke to me.  
  
"Who are your parents little girl?"  
  
I couldn't speak; it took all the energy I had just to breathe.  
  
"Where do you live? You need to go home."  
  
"Dame," I whispered. I only hoped he had heard me, I could not say it again. Already I tasted blood as my tear in my lips re-opened. Little, Old Man nodded gravely before scooping me up again and leaping into the trees.  
  
We traveled like this for two days, stopping occasionally for food. Little, Old Man offered me broth, but I would have none of it. I no longer wanted to live, the constant drumming in my head, the ever suffering of my body, and the eternal knowledge that my parents had forsaken me, gave me all the more reason to die.  
  
I once asked Little, Old Man where he was taking me.  
  
"Nerima," He had answered so simply. There was no other explanation, but it was of little concern to me. I planned to leave this world behind; it didn't matter where I did it.  
  
* * *  
  
On the evening of the second day, the sky was blazed with a red sunset. Houses ran in endless lines through the streets where we finally stopped. One house with a dojo in the back looked just as cold and heartless as the rest of the world. We went inside.  
  
By now I was in a dazed state of hunger from an empty stomach and pain from my untreated cuts. I don't remember much from the first three days I spent in the Tendo home, just white lights, pain, warm soup, and one calming voice hushing my cries into sleep. When I finally awoke, a window beside my bed glowed with the early morning sunlight.  
  
I was bandaged from head to toe with bags of ice resting on my shins and hips but the pain was gone. For once in a long time, I was happy to be alive.  
  
A few minutes later a woman walked in.  
  
"Oh my, you've woken up," She exclaimed. "Would you like some breakfast?" She asked setting down fresh bandages at the foot of my bed. I nodded and she left, smiling.  
  
When the door latched behind her, I started to look around. The white walls were splashed with rays from the rising sun, filtering through the peach curtains of the window. Another futon lay folded in the opposite corner of the room beside the door. A small desk lightly cluttered with papers, books and pictures stood on its own in the sun. I slipped from under the cotton covers and attempted to stand. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I was restless. Taking slow, tentative steps, I made my way across the room to the desk. I picked up one picture residing behind the glass of the picture frame. The Smiling Lady was seated beside three other girls, one with brown hair one with blue hair, and one with red - looking vaguely annoyed - a tall man with long lack hair - seeming mildly confused- a panda, and Little Old Man, who seemed like he dove in at the last moment. It was a very nice picture, I decided and set it back on the desk. The other picture contained simply the blue haired girl and a boy with a pigtail braid. The boy was cute, I had to admit, but his incredible resemblance to the red head was disturbing.  
  
I had made my way back to bed and lay down to think, trying to organize myself mentally.  
  
(I am in a house of strangers, nice strangers, but they're still strangers. Little Old Man is here, I'm sure, ut the others. would they send me home. I never want to go back! Perhaps. if I can prove myself. they'll let me stay.)  
  
The Smiling Lady came back in with a tray of a little rice, more broth and water. I started to eat, fumbling nervously with my chopsticks as the Smiling Lady watched. I began to hear the rest of the house rising outside, muffled voices and thundering feet up and down the stairs. When I had finished, I meekly thanked the Smiling Lady. She took the tray and quietly left the room.  
  
"Ranma, will you go get Akane, it's time you two left." I heard her say outside the door.  
  
"Yeah, sure, Kasumi," Came a boy's reply. "Akane! Time to go!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he stomped up the stairs. A door creaked open.  
  
"Ranma, you PERVERT!!!" Crashed and more yelling came from upstairs.  
  
"Com'on Akane! It's not like I wanted to see you or anything!"  
  
"Ranma. Baka!!!  
  
**Splash**  
  
"Hey! Whadja do that for?!!" (A girl's voice?)  
  
"Hmph. You deserved it!"  
  
"Whadid I do.?"  
  
"Ranma, you disgrace your father going around like that. What ever happened to your dignity?"  
  
"Hey! That's HOT!!!" (.a boy's. voice.?)  
  
"Shuddup, Pops,"  
  
**Splash**  
  
"Bor bor." (Panda!!)  
  
"It wasn't me! It was that stupid, un-cute fiancée..."  
  
"Stupid?!! Who are you calling stupid, Baka?!!" More Crashing.  
  
The Smiling Lady came back in apologizing for all the noise before.  
  
"Kasumi, will you PLEASE explain to your sister I was just trying to." His eyes fell on me. It was the boy in the picture, the on that looked like the red head. "Hey, you're awake." I would have acknowledged his comment, but then the girl with blue hair came in.  
  
"Ranma, I'll.oh," She stopped when she saw me and dropped her giant hammer, purposely, onto Ranma's foot. She quickly crossed the room and knelt down beside my bed.  
  
"How are you feeling? Better?"  
  
I nodded surprised by her sudden composure.  
  
"Ranma, Akane," The girl with short, brown hair came in. "If you two are through killing each other, I suggest you resurrect and grab your stuff. You're going to be late." She too saw me and immediately turned around. "Everyone! The girl's awake!"  
  
After that my room got very crowded. Tree girls, two boys, me and a panda, are enough to make any room seem cramped. For a while they all just stared at me and I couldn't help blushing.  
  
"Are you just going to stare at her?" The girl in short, brown hair asked bluntly.  
  
"My name is Tendo Nabiki. This man is my father," she sighed sadly, "Tendo Soun."  
  
"Nabiki, why are you so cruel to you father?" Tendo Soun ask as tears welled into his eyes.  
  
"You know I love you, daddy," Nabiki replied in a rather unemotional tone. At this Soun began to cry, hiding his face in his sleeve. Nabiki ignored her father and continued.  
  
"This is Saotome Genma," She gestured towards the panda who promptly held up a sign reading, 'Nice to meet you!'  
  
"You've already met Kasumi," She pointed at the Smiling Woman, "and finally, there's Saotome Ranma and Tendo Akane." She sat down obviously pleased with herself.  
  
I sat up and introduced myself. "I'm Habikashi Tomoko. Um, where are the others?"  
  
"Others?" Ranma's face twisted in trying to remember.  
  
"Hai. Little Old man and."  
  
"Tomoko-chan! You remembered me.!"  
  
**Thunk**  
  
Ranma's fist came down on Little Old Man's head. "Little Old Man. Oh! You mean the Freak!"  
  
"Who are you calling a Freak, Ranma?!!' Little Old Man interjected.  
  
".Freak?" I was so confused.  
  
"Yeah, He's a freak alright," Ranma said fending off Little Old Man. "You'll get the idea after a while, if you're staying with us, I mean."  
  
"oh no! She must go home!" Kasumi broke in.  
  
"She's right," A sign read, held up by Mr. Saotome Panda. "She can't stay here."  
  
"Tomoko-chan, where are your parents?" Akane asked gently.  
  
"Kyoto." I said as fear welled within me. I didn't want to go home!  
  
"Her parents must be worried."  
  
"They aren't," I interrupted Akane. "They don't care about me." Venomous hatred dripped off every word.  
  
"Oh, dear."  
  
"Tomoko-chan, tell us what happened."  
  
They were all watching me, waiting, while I shook nervously. I didn't want to go home! I NEVER wanted to go back!!!  
  
"L-Little Old Man, f-found me just after my f-father beat m-me." I lied; and everything went from there. Within half an hour they all agreed to let me stay.  
  
"Alright you two!" Nabiki called to Ranma and Akane, "You're already 45 minutes late, let's no see how many buckets sensei will make you hold if you wait any longer!"  
  
"Okay, we're coming! Com'on, Akane." Ranma pulled on his backpack.  
  
"Just a minute," She was still kneeling by my bed, talking to me. Everyone else had left the room.  
  
"Get better soon, then maybe w e could move you up into my room, if you like." I nodded, smiling. "Let's be friends, okay?"  
  
"That's what she said to me first time I came here," Ranma said. "Now look."  
  
"Ranma! You Jerk!"  
  
Ranma fled the room as soon as he saw Akane's hammer come out of nowhere. Akane followed, screaming at him as she went.  
  
Soon the house was quiet again, only the distant sound of Kasumi cleaning breakfast dishes could be heard. I laid back on the bad and tried to sleep, but I could only cry.  
  
I suppose some of the tears were for the pain I felt as the painkillers started to wear off, a few for the fact that my father was now that drunken bastard that had kidnapped me, but most of the droplets shed by my eyes were for my happiness. I don't know if it's possible to cry tears of joy and sorrow at the same time, but if it is. I did.  
  
* * *  
  
I walked back from that shining, shallow pool and lay down in my bed. A million questions had battered my head that night, as I lay awake in bed thinking about my fight with Ranma. I wanted to help but I didn't know how. 'I should have expected such a reaction. What could I have done to help? What could anyone do to help? Was Nabiki right? Would this arguing ever come to an end?'  
  
I wished I had all the answers, but that was impossible. I had dreamed for weeks on end that everything would return to the way it was four years ago, but dreams always last the longest when they're furthest from our reach. I lay back in bed contented with my frustration and tried to sleep.  
  
Tomorrow would bring another Monday, another day of teachers and substitutes, homework and quizzes, projects and midterms. It all sounded pretty depressing, but it was comforting to know there were only 79 Mondays left in my high school career, only 79 left till freedom. And only 78 more Sundays like this one, lying awake wishing tomorrow would never come..  
  
* * * End Chapter Two* * *  
  
Hopefully things are starting to come together! Read and REVIEW!!! I'd love to hear what you think!!! 'Till next time! ~Ame 


	3. Chapter 3: Saotome Tomoko

Disclaimer: I don not own Ranma ½, HOWEVER ... *pauses dramatically*... I DO own Habikashi Tomoko, so there!  
  
----------------------------  
  
Seventy-Nine Mondays  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Saotome Tomoko  
  
By Ame  
  
-----------------------------  
  
The sun wasn't shining in through the open window when I woke. Anxiety and frustration gave me a fitful sleep last night. Usually, I would have gone back to bed, for another twenty-seven minutes until my alarm went off, but today I wanted to avoid Ranma at all costs. And that included surrendering my beauty sleep.  
  
I dressed in the dark doing the best I could, trying not to wake Kasumi, who slept peacefully across the room. When I emerged into the hall, lighted by cool morning sun, I noticed to my dismay that my socks were two different colors. This was bound to be a rough morning.  
  
I was out of the house in he record time of thirty-three minutes with no one disturbed or out of bed to see me leave. The morning was cold and shrouded in mists but all the more beautiful for it. I walked listening to my own heels on the pavement, as though they clicked in rhythm to a silent beat. The school was empty except for a few students shuffling around, arms full of brooms and buckets. I sat on my own in a classroom, staring out the window....  
  
* * *  
  
It was such a morning as this when I was finally aloud out of bed, four years ago. Two weeks, lying day after day, sitting hour after hour, in that bed with absolutely nothing to do was complete torture. The only liberation I had had was when I used the bathroom, which ended up being nine to ten times a day. Then finally, when all my cuts had healed and bruises were all but gone, I had my freedom.  
  
For the first few days I roamed the house while everyone was away. I looked through old photo albums, dug through lonely boxes in the closet, shuffled though papers in a dusty desk, and listened to Nabiki. She updated me on everything: Akane's and Ranma's engagement. and Ranma's other engagements, the failed marriage four months ago, Kuno, Kodachi, Shampoo, Ukyo, and of course, her own involvement in all of this. She even let me look through her private collection, free of charge, because she said I had potential. Later on, I would regret having that "potential".  
  
Days passed, I started helping with breakfast and running small errands, while many of my questions were answered about my new family. However, there was on thing I still wanted answered..about the red haired girl. I asked Nabiki, but she refused to comment, saying I should talk to Ranma. So I did.  
  
"Ranma?" I asked timidly as he sat at the breakfast table.  
  
"Hmmm?" Ranma said between mouthfuls of rice.  
  
"Who's...Who's the red-haired girl?" I questioned hoping that by talking to him would conclude my endless search to find out who she was.  
  
He stopped eating and just looked up at me as though he thought my question was a joke.  
  
"Uhh...I-I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled quickly.  
  
"Oh," I was disappointed and didn't bother to hide it.  
  
"Tomoko-chan, what's wrong?" Akane stepped into the room.  
  
"Oh, I was just wondering ---"  
  
"---How the weather was going to be today!" Ranma interjected.  
  
"Well, no. not really. I was wondering ---"  
  
"---If she was going to ---"  
  
"Ranma! Shut-up!!" Akane snapped threateningly with flaming eyes. Ranma sunk to the floor, rather frightened. "Tomoko-chan, you were saying."  
  
"I wanted to know who the red-haired girl was."  
  
"Ohhh." Nabiki walked in with her own breakfast.  
  
"Red-haired girl---? Red-haired girl---? Red-haired girl---?" I could see Akane struggling to think while Ranma rolled his eyes.  
  
"God Akane, how thick are you?!!"  
  
"Shut-up! Ranma! Can't you see I'm trying to remember...Ohhh! Red-haired girl!"  
  
"Finally we're getting somewhere." Nabiki commented monotonously.  
  
"Well, Tomoko-chan, Ranma---Mmph" Ranma had rushed across the room and covered Akane's mouth. I was getting the feeling he didn't want me to know.  
  
"ROONMMAA!!!" Akane eyebrow twitched as she screeched through Ranma's hand.  
  
"Now Akane, lets be rationaAAALLL!!!" Ranma flew out the doors and into the small pond in the back. Akane panted angrily with her fists still clenched. I watched all this in anxious intrigue. Nabiki just smirked.  
  
"Whaddja do THAT for?!!" A wet, red head popped out of the water screaming at the top of its lungs.  
  
"Tomoko-chan meet Ranma-chan," Akane thrust her finger in Ranma's direction.  
  
"Ranma-chan---?"  
  
"Now you see," Nabiki left the room with a final sarcastic remark.  
  
Ranma-chan crossed her wet arms and frowned sourly. "Hmmph. Who asked an un- cute, tomboy like you---" Suddenly, giant hammer cut off Ranma as it landed squarely on her head.  
  
* * *  
  
Students began to slowly file into class taking their seats in scattered places around the room. I glanced at the clock; I still had twenty minutes until class started, unfortunately. So I turned my head and stared back out that window.  
  
* * *  
  
I became a normal part of life after only five weeks staying there. I helped around the house nearly all day, I acted as a buffer between Ranma and Akane, I often gave Mr. Tendo tips to ward off Mr. Saotome Panda's cheating, and I loved it. Any happiness I had known in my other life was all but forgotten.  
  
"Father," Kasumi said one morning at breakfast, "don't you think Tomoko should be attending school?" Everyone was silent in sudden realization.  
  
"That's right!" Akane exclaimed putting aside her rice. "How old are you Tomoko-chan?"  
  
"Nearly fourteen," I said proudly, my birthday as actually only a month away.  
  
"Perfect! She can start high school with us!"  
  
"Under what name, might I inquire?" Nabiki added without looking up.  
  
"Habikashi Tomoko, of course!"  
  
"Of course! Habikashi Tomoko, the girl missing and believed kidnapped from Kyoto."  
  
Akane slumped down defeated. All eyes were on me, as though everyone though I had the solution but Nabiki spoke up.  
  
"We should legally adopt her. Saying she was staying with her parents in America when there was a huge fire and everything was destroyed.only she got out alive. Which gives us the excuse for no birth certificate or identification. Then she should be---mmm---Saotome Tomoko."  
  
"Saotome?!!" Ranma burst in, suddenly aware of the conversation.  
  
"Obviously, you and Tomoko look alike." She was right; both our blue eyes flashed underneath a mess of black bangs. Our faces were of similar shape, polished with the same vague expression.  
  
"She's right, you could be brother and sister." Kasumi added thoughtfully.  
  
"Hmph, I don't think so..." Ranma mumbled to himself.  
  
The next day, Nabiki, Ranma, and Akane accompanied me to the Nerima Legal Office. Kasumi was home doing laundry and Nabiki insisted both Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome Panda stayed home. Mr. Tendo would have broken down crying and confessing everything, and a panda would just have made them look more suspicious. Nabiki made it clear that she would do ALL the talking.  
  
The Legal Office was cold, like someone had left the air conditioning running for far too long. Dreary, gray tile covered the extensive floor and caused my sandals to click as we approached the front desk.  
  
"Excuse me," Nabiki began, "I'd like to register this girl for citizenship." She pointed at me as I came walking up behind her.  
  
"Of course, sweetie," Nabiki flinched and we all grimaced at the thought of Nabiki being a 'sweetie'. "Does the girl speak Japanese?"  
  
"Hai," I offered meekly.  
  
"Yes," Nabiki cut in quickly, before giving me a look that told me not to open my mouth again, "but very little. She comprehends more than she can converse."  
  
"Okay, can I ask you to tell her story, Hun?"  
  
"I'll oblige you if you can keep your pet-names to yourself." Nabiki didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "She was born to a Japanese mother in Hawaii. Her father had left before she was born and with no other living relatives, this woman was all she had in the world." She paused and closed her eyes as though to blink away tears. Ranma stifled a laugh. "Tragically the mother was killed.by anarchy bombers." The woman behind the counter drew in a sharp breath of shock and horror.  
  
This was too much; Ranma couldn't help himself, "Boom! Gone.very sad."  
  
Nabiki shot Ranma a nasty look over her shoulder. "Anyways, the entire home was destroyed, along with all documents of identification." Akane shook her head sympathetically. Nabiki continued, " So this child was shipped out to the nearest relative.her father, Saotome Genma."  
  
Now was Ranma's turn to be surprised. "I didn't even know the old man had it in him."  
  
"The government dumped her into our hands and now here we are, asking for an official citizenship for Saotome Tomoko."  
  
Akane squeezed my hand; she knew this was hard for me. Hard to let everything I was go up in flames, like the false fire that had killed my false mother.  
  
The receptionist dried her eyes with a tissue before hand us the form, sniffling.  
  
"Thank you," Nabiki took the forms, grabbed a pen and began to fill everything out. The woman's eyes were barely dried when Nabiki finished.  
  
"H-Here is a temporary c-copy until your official information comes in the m-mail," the woman stuttered thorough hiccoughing tears. Nabiki took the pink sheet of paper before turning and walking briskly out of the building. We all followed with Ranma talking about how he almost believed it and Akane still holding my hand. I turned my new name over and over in my head, trying to make it fit somehow.  
  
Saotome Tomoko....  
  
Saotome Tomoko....  
  
Saotome Tomoko....  
  
* * *  
  
"Saotome Tomoko!!!" sensei's voice rang in my ears.  
  
"H-Hai!" I stood quickly for the roll call.  
  
"Good to see you with us this morning, Saotome-san." The entire class giggled as I sunk back down into my chair. (What a way to start the day!)  
  
"Alright everyone, settle down. We'll go over the homework then take a small quiz."  
  
The entire class groaned. One student spoke up, "But Sensei, you said last class there would be no more surprise quizzes for the rest of the month."  
  
"Did I?" The class nodded in agreement. Tomoko vaguely remembered something along those lines but lately she hadn't been paying attention anyways.  
  
"So there'll be no quiz today?" Another student asked hopefully.  
  
"No, its not a surprise because I just told you about it!" Sensei finished smiling. Then, ignoring the class's whining, Sensei went on with the lesson.  
  
The day was over soon enough and I trudged home, dreading what I would find there. The streets had become so lonely without Ranma and Akane walking beside me. They would shoot arguments back and fourth while I stood in the middle smiling despite myself. They had only fought for the sake of fighting.note the past tense.  
  
Yes, the streets were depressing, much like everything else in this town. Sometimes I just wanted to leave. Pack up and ---but I haven't any other home. So I rough it for one more day, then another, then another, then another, until I finally realize I'm not going anywhere fast. So I walk this forlorn road everyday, to school and back again---everyday---without anyone.  
  
* * *  
  
"Mate!" I yelled after them.  
  
Ranma ran nimbly across the fence while Akane pounded after him as they raced home. I'd been Saotome Tomoko for three months now. I was fourteen, skinny, five feet six and ½ an inches, after a growth spurt that stretched me just over Akane's head, in the first year of high school. Ranma had started my training as a martial artist - which begun as a defense against the freak's frequent attacks - and I was enjoying it. Even though I was a quick learner, my body couldn't keep up with my mind, so I once again fell behind and came home panting, last...again.  
  
"Tomoko-chan, what took you?" Akane questioned as I came into the kitchen for a drink of water.  
  
"I...I couldn't keep up," I faltered, embarrassed.  
  
"We've been doing this for over a month now, you should be able to---"  
  
"Akane, don't push her so hard," Kasumi cut in, "after all, she's still a child."  
  
That hurt.  
  
Though meant innocently enough, my heart dropped into my stomach. I forgot the water and ran to the dojo. Fortunately for me, Ranma wasn't there yet. I didn't want him to see the tears streaming down my face.  
  
I had long been self-conscious about my body.most girls are, but my case is a little different. Fourteen with a body of a five-year-old is enough to make anybody sensitive about the subject. There wasn't anything I could do about it though---that's what bothered me the most.  
  
* * *  
  
My shoes grinded softly against the dirt as I walked through the yard - avoiding Ranma. I snuck into the house through the side door and noted right off that it was WAY too quiet.  
  
***End Chapter Three***  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
WAAUUHAAHAA!!!! Cliffhanger (I love being evil)!!! Ok, PLEASE REVIEW and the next chapter will be up soon - no more school!!!!! YAY!!!! *dances happily* Anyways please review...why does that sound familiar...until next time  
  
~Ame 


	4. Chapter 4: A Quiet Life

Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma ½ belong to Takahashi Rumiko but I hold the rights to Habikashi Tomoko and her story.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Seventy-Nine Mondays  
  
Chapter Four  
  
A Quiet Life  
  
By Ame  
  
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The house was quiet. Not even the normal clang of dishes came from the kitchen. No floorboards creaked, no clicking of the pieces of Chinese chess, no yelling about something completely trivial.nothing. I crept up the stairs hardly breathing, fearing I might disturb the eerie silence. The question (What is going on?!!) nagged in the back of my mind. Fortunately, I came across Nabiki as I reached the second floor and she filled me in.  
  
"Ranma and Akane had a fight," she whispered. (Of coarse) "They called off their engagement."  
  
"So! That's happened a million times before.!"  
  
"Both Akane and Ranma were crying," she continued down the stairs. I stood there shocked.  
  
(Ranma...crying...?)  
  
Nearly loosing my balance, I steadied myself and walked to Ranma's room. I pressed my ear to the door. Sure enough muffled sobs trickled out of the room. I wanted to run in and cry with him. I wanted to comfort my big brother....Ranma....but I couldn't. Everything I knew screamed against my urge, flooding out my thoughts until I turned and walked away.  
  
(He's not my brother...not anymore at least.) My throat constricted and eyes stung with threatening tears at the thought.  
  
My room was warm and filled with all the things I held dear but now brought me little comfort. I reached into a drawer and pulled out my gi. Akane would be in the dojo trying to sweat away her tears. I pulled the uniform over my head, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I didn't stay like a kid forever.  
  
By the time I was fifteen, grown out of my childish body and into one even superior to Ranma-chan's. I was tall though, towering over most girls at five feet eight inches but most boys didn't seem to mind.especially Kuno.  
  
* * *  
  
Now just thinking of his name sends shivers down my spine - bad shivers. He was a last year high school student when, as Nabiki says, I 'lived up to my name as a female Saotome'. Luckily for Nabiki, Ranma wasn't around to hear this particular comment.  
  
The days were going normally as I...um...developed. No catcalls, no groping, no unnecessary confessions of love...I did get a few more 'looks' in the halls. The ones where a boy's eyes fly up and down over your body REALLY FAST...they think you never saw it. The 'looks' slowly increased in number and length - some boys' eyes even took a double take - and Ranma's temper shortened. Out of the corner of my eye, I would see him flinch every time, and laugh to myself. It sort of became a game for me to see his reaction. I wondered if he would ever do anything about it; if is patience would ever run out...it did.  
  
It happened on a particularly testy Tuesday in April. 'April showers bring May flowers' so the saying goes, and Ranma was none too happy about it. Akane and I arrived at school soaked while Ranma-chan ran ahead. She managed to get into the girl's bathroom and break the hot water line without being seen. After being thoroughly scalded, he ran out of the bathroom. Squealing and screaming 'PERVERT' coming from down the hall announced his return.  
  
After the torturous classes, we met and walked out together. Even making way through the crowed halls, watching Ranma became entertaining. Look. Flinch. Look. Flinch. Look. Grunt. Look. Glare. Look. *CRASH* Patience was no more.  
  
The fifth guy definitely wasn't as lucky as the other hundreds before him. Ranma tackled him full on without any attempts at an explanation.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING LOOKING AT MY LITTLE SISTER LIKE THAT?!!!!" Ranma bellowed at the top of his lungs. Akane turned crimson as the students stopped to stare. I shook with uncontrollable laughter at the sight of the poor boy's terrified face. "WELL?!! WELL?!!" Ranma was practically on top of the boy shaking him like a pair of maracas.  
  
"Ranma...!!!"Akane yelled, then glanced at me nervously. It was a touchy subject. Ranma's anger was perfectly understandable but his reaction, inexcusable. I'm sure Akane was wondering whether I was glad Ranma attacked him. I smiled at her before breaking into another fit of giggles and Akane turned back to the raging Ranma.  
  
"RANMA!!!" Akane screeched and everything got silent except for me, quietly laughing. I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to. Both boys looked up at Akane, their faces plastered with utter fear. The boy crawled from underneath Ranma and ran off as fast as he could. Ranma just sat there, staring into Akane's blazing eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. The suspense was killing me. Either Akane would pull out her hammer an give him a fair beating or, more likely, Ranma would make a break for it and run for his life.  
  
One minute passed, then another. A few of the students left. Ranma was still sprawled on the floor, his eyes glazed in panic but Akane's eyes were figuring everything out. It didn't look too good for Ranma.  
  
Suddenly, Ranma's foot moved, maybe only half an inch but it was enough. Akane's face changed as she concentrated all her energy on that foot. Then Ranma bolted! Akane pulled out the infamous hammer and shot after him. I followed, laughing all the way.  
  
It wasn't long before my long legs caught up to Akane.....and passed her. Now I sprinted after Ranma, only hoping I could get in my last words to him before Akane's hammer came crashing down on us both - I was fraternizing with the enemy.  
  
"Ranma!" I panted when I finally reached him (Racing him home everyday finally paid off). "Follow me! Haiyaku!" I turned sharply down another hallway and Ranma trailed behind me. We both heard the screeching and crashes of Akane's failure to stop and smiled at each other.  
  
Lately I'd been siding with Ranma, sort of evening the odds against Akane--- but Ranma still managed to get smacked-around pretty good sometimes. We just might get out of this one alive.  
  
The hallway's end was drawing ever closer. Ranma glanced nervously at me.  
  
"We'll turn right." He nodded. We turned right--- *CRASH*  
  
I had run into somebody as I speeded around the corner. My head pounded as I slowly opened my eyes, sat upright then jumped to my feet. I had knocked into an upperclassman student. He too gradually got to his feet.  
  
"Hey, Tomoko, hurry up! Akane is still onto us!" Ranma yelled from a few paces away.  
  
"Saotome Ranma, we meet again." Mr. Upperclassman pulled out a wooden sword and pointed it at Ranma. For a moment I was going to laugh, thinking that anyone would dare to take on my brother - especially in public - but then I realized who he was.! His eyes strayed and fell on me. "And who, pray tell, is this?" he didn't seem to be asking anyone in particular but Ranma volunteered.  
  
"This is my LITTLE SISTER," Ranma emphasized obviously, "Saotome Tomoko. Tomoko, this is Kuno."  
  
"N-Nice to m-meet you." I extended my hand nervously, wondering if he could read through my lie. Ranma snickered.  
  
"The pleasure is all mine, fair maiden." Kuno turned my hand in his and brought it to his lips. I recoiled before his lips touched any part of me. My disgust must have shown on my face because Ranma started laughing again.  
  
"Fear not my sweet, I understand your gentle heart all too well. Come and date with me and we shall---"  
  
"Save the rest for some other time, Kuno. We gotta go!" Ranma grabbed my hand and dragged me out of there. *Crash* I looked back to see Akane - who had FINALLY caught up - streaking after us and the flattened Kuno she had left in her haste.  
  
Ranma and I managed to escape Akane's wrath with no more than a few scratches and by the next day, everything was all but forgotten--- everything except for Kuno. Unfortunately for me, Kuno perused me everyday after that. I took the knack of kicking him off somewhere into the universe as Ranma-chan and Akane had.  
  
* * *  
  
I finished dressing and left for the dojo. The sky was clear but the cold wind bit at my bare skin. I shivered slightly listening to the wind rustle the leaves. The shining dojo floors were sprinkled with sweat and tears. Akane attacked the air again and again in a far corner. For a minute I just watched, wondering what I was going to say to her.  
  
"What?" Akane snapped as she stopped her assault on space.  
  
"I just c-came to t-train," I tried to sound as innocent as possible. Akane rolled her eyes but just turned around, walked a few paces away and stared at the wall before her.  
  
"You know---" Akane's back was still turned, "Ranma can be such a JERK!!!" Her fist flew at the wall. I winced.  
  
*Thunk*  
  
No crash---  
  
Akane should have broken through the wall with ease. Akane should have sent pieces of shattered wood flying. Akane could have done it...if her heart had been in it.  
  
This was it. This was the huge thing Nabiki had predicted. She said it could either be good or bad. I wanted it to be good and if anything of being raised in this house for four years I learned to be irrationally stubborn. There was no way I could just sit back and watch Ranma and Akane throw away their love for each other just 'cause of their own stupidity (Harsh I know but true). I was going to try to stop it...somehow.  
  
Akane's head hung low over the floor as a fresh weight of tears spilled from her eyes. I started over with unsteady and unsure steps. (One foot in front of the other). When I reached her I put my arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug. Her body shook with new sobbing. For a while we just stood there until her eyes had dried. Then she stiffened. I would have rather died than listened to what flashed through her mind but I knew she was through with being sad.... and ready to be angry.  
  
A sight improvement I had to confess but it didn't make my situation any easier. Now I had to fight her. Not to difficult a task however it would make things a little more difficult to talk through.  
  
* * *  
  
After my body FINALLY matured, my training began to skyrocket. In a matter of weeks I could run faster, jump higher, and punch harder. Quick, daily spars with Kuno also helped me to improve.  
  
Ranma took a real passion in teaching me everything I know. Akane checked on us now and again to make sure Ranma didn't take anything too seriously. She might exchange punches with me once in a while but she really wasn't a large part of my coaching. I didn't become a master over night. Everything was frustrating, provoking and aggravating but I loved it. I took a passion for martial arts that Akane had never attained. So it wasn't long before I beat her.  
  
Akane was furious that I had won over her. I was ecstatic and Ranma didn't show much surprise. She challenged me that day again and again and again until she lay exhausted on the floor unable to even stand. Our relationship changed that day. I was no longer a little girl who had always looked up to her; I was a threat. I managed to smooth things over a bit - we never spared again - but things were never quite the same. Some things never can be.  
  
* * *  
  
Akane spun around and threw her first punch. I didn't want to fight her. I knew I'd win. I didn't want her to hurt any more than she already did... but she left me no choice and little room to escape that first attack. I managed to duck under it and compose myself before another came at my face. I dodged. She tired an upper cut but I jumped back. I fared well enough but evading didn't work so well when Akane started kicking.  
  
I jumped from side to side avoiding kicks aimed at my head, up and down at attacks intended to trip me and backwards at those designed for my stomach. It all became very tiring and I found myself barely dodging in time. When one of her punches finally connected I put some distance between us.  
  
Now a safe fifteen feet away I could finally get a chance to breathe - something I commonly forget to do when I'm concentrating so hard. Ranma occasionally has to stop my training if he sees me turning colors. Akane wasn't coming after me just yet. She just stood there watching me, as I tried to catch my breath.  
  
She had gotten better since our last sparring, which I suppose is to be expected. She no longer just tossed her punches willy-nilly, she actually thought them through. Surprisingly enough, her thoughts were betrayed in her eyes. I could see her planning every move with her cold eyes locked onto my face. Her stare pierced my soul as I saw her think of nothing but the fight. Everything for the fight, everything for the moment, never a then, never a when, there was only now.  
  
She still watched me but her look had softened. The tear-streaked cheeks now glistened with sweat, watery eyes were harsh and stubborn but the fight was over. I watched stunned as her stiff mouth gave way to a small smile. I never once hit her, I never once tried to and I had expected her to be at least irritated. I expected wrong and I was glad. Grinning back, I came and took a seat on the hard floor. Akane sat beside me.  
  
We talked a bit about Ranma, a little about school, a lot about life.  
  
"Life always manages to get in the way---"  
  
"---Only if you let it."  
  
In the end it didn't quite go the way I predicted but then again life never does. The present is spur of the moment, the future holds only disappointment and ironic happiness, and the past is a haze of memory. Life is bittersweet but I'd be damned if I just sat back and watched it go by.  
  
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Author's Notes:  
  
Pease review and let me know what you think. A lot of it was late night rambling that ended up fitting with the story. Expect next chapter by next week at the latest!  
  
~Ame 


End file.
